Man accidentally slipped into a pothole and was buried alive by construction workers

An Indian man drunkenly slipped into a pothole at an under-construction road in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh and was buried alive. He was covered in molten tar and would have gone unnoticed had residents not discovered the man's arm sticking out from the tarred road.

The man has been identified as Latori Barman, a resident of Khadra village. Police said Barman had gone to Rishi Panchmi fair with his wife on Friday night.

While his wife stayed back at her parent's house, he returned to his village after a brief halt at a liquor shop.

"It was dark and there were no warning signs. He would have been walking in an inebriated condition when he fell into the pit between Udlana and Hata village and lost consciousness. Traffic had been restricted on the stretch as the pit occupied more than half of the road," said an investigating officer.

Heavy machines were being used for the road construction work. "Workers must not have noticed him while filling the pothole with bitumen," the officer added.

The driver of the dumper and a labourer who had filled the pothole were arrested and booked for negligence leading to death.

 District collector Vivek Narwal said Barman's kin will be given Rs 50,000 as compensation.